Best In Show!!

This past weekend was the Kansas State Convention in Hutchinson.  With the ARBA Convention being in San Diego, there was a larger than usual entry – 1600 pre-entered and over 1700 on the day of the show.  My rabbits travel very well, so I took a gamble and entered my Convention show team in both Friday’s specialty show and the all-breed on Saturday and Sunday.

I did OK in the specialty show, winning BOV Black with a doe named Luxury and BOSV with a junior buck.  Bob won BOB with a beautifully colored Steel Sr. Buck and BOS with a Blue Jr. Doe.  After the show I headed home to put finishing touches on the banquet decorations.  Karen and I volunteered to do them last year and had fun making them from crocks, nestboxes, travel cups and other “useful” rabbit supplies.

Saturday morning the Dutch were judged in the all-breed.  I was excited to win BOB with Roxie, she is my favorite show rabbit right now.  After the show we decorated for the banquet and with several people helping it went quickly.  The supply decor went over well and it was fun to send most people home with a door prize.  Later on was one of the best parts of the weekend…the notorious room party during which a few of us suffered flying pumpkin injuries!

Sunday morning came early, and I decided I needed to sleep rather than show pigs.  I did get there in time to enter the Mini Rex specialty.  Best in Show was finally called around noon, and I got Roxie ready to go up.  As she sat on the table and I looked at her from a distance I noticed how much she’s primed since her last show a couple weeks earlier.  She got a long, hard look the first time, then she and the Havana got a second look.  And then…she was announced as Best in Show!!!

 

Needless to say, I was very excited!!  This was my first Best in Show win with the new herd, and it happened at one of the largest shows we’ve had in awhile.

I didn’t think it was possible to be any more excited about San Diego, but I am!!  She’ll be getting the royal treatment until then…California, here we come!

Summer flashbacks and fall shows

The summer show slump is over and all of a sudden, it’s fall!  The rabbits are loving it.  Me…not so much.  I like long days and warm weather!

I did get a reprieve from the cool weather when I went to Bakersfield to judge the Kern County Fair at the end of September.  It was over 100 a few days in a row, and since we never got a real good summer here, I liked it!  I judged rabbits for two days and then showmanship, and had a great time!

The rabbit committee, led by Armando, did a great job and took very good care of me.   I was also well-fed, with a trip to In-n-Out and my introduction to Basque food.

I had never even heard of Basque food until the day we went.  We do have quite a selection in Wichita, but this is one cuisine we’re missing!  The food itself isn’t all that different, but the presentation is.  Everything is family-style and served in several courses.  Everyone orders an entree, and included in the price is all the rest of the dishes.  The first course that comes out has a cabbage soup, beans and hot sauce and is served with bread.  I learned to mix beans and hot sauce into the soup, it sounds a little strange but is actually very good!  Next is salad, stewed tomatoes with peppers and onions, and pickled beef tongue (this I did not try!).  Next were green beans and fries, followed by our entrees.  I had been advised to pace myself, and I just made it with enough room for my shrimp scampi!

Food aside, I had a great time at the show meeting everyone.  I picked a gorgeous Mini Lop Best in Show and a Dutch Reserve.  All of the kids showed great sportsmanship and were very polite.

The next weekend was my first show of the fall.  The Kaw Valley club celebrated their 50th anniversary with a double show.  I still have several who are young or coming into fur, so I only took 4.  3 were young and fuzzy, but one 5 month old black doe was so well-developed that I entered her as a senior.

Briony’s Rocks Off (aka Roxie) is a Tumbling Dice daughter (see previous post) out of Hawkeye’s Eyecatcher.  It was her first time out, and she surprised me in the first show by winning Best of Breed!

As you can see, her BOB award was a towel.  The only thing I didn’t like is that there was only one.  (What rabbit geek wouldn’t like a Best of Breed towel set??)

That afternoon, Roxie took BOS in the B show to a very handsome Black Sr. Buck of Rick’s.

Convention is coming up fast…I’m crossing my fingers that some hold coats and others molt quickly!